Crews Continue Search for Malaysian Aircraft

As relatives of passengers waited for any news on a Malaysian Airlines’ aircraft that became missing while en route Saturday to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, reports started to emerge that aircraft from the military spotted slicks off the southern coast of Vietnam.

The AP reported that the government of Vietnam said the slicks were between 6 and 9 miles in length. The statement also said the two slicks were similar to ones that would be left from a crashed jetliner’s fuel.

A delegation of calligraphers and painters from China, an IBM employee from the U.S. and two couples vacationing from Australia were amongst those thought to be aboard.

The flight MH370 lost contact with all air traffic controllers at 2:40 am only two hours after taking off. Over 14 hours afterwards, officials from the airline said they were unable to make any contact or to determine the aircraft’s whereabouts.

The CEO of the airline Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, in Kuala Lumpur said there were not any distress calls made or reports of bad weather from the aircraft’s pilots prior to the aircraft losing contact about 140 miles from the coast of Kota Bharu, Malaysia.

An effort for search and rescue was ongoing said officials. China sent two sea vessels to assist reported CCTV its state run television station. Singapore sent an aircraft to help in the search. Malaysia sent three ships, three helicopters and a navy vessel.

Some of the relatives of the passengers on the plane were taken from the Beijing Airport to a hotel nearby to be sequestered in a room away from the press.

Periodically cries were heard from inside the conference room and many people emerged complaining that officials from the airline had not been providing enough information.

The airline announced it was sending a team of its caregivers as well as volunteers from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on Saturday afternoon so they can assist members of the families of the missing passengers.

Of the 227 passengers and 12 crew, the majority or 154 were from Taiwan and China. A manifest was not released but passengers’ names were posted and three apparently held U.S. passports.